What Is an AI Agent?
Objectives
This lesson prepares you for Module Objective 8.1, which Step 1 measures. By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
- Explain the five parts of an AI agent: a goal, where it looks, the rules it follows, what it reports, and when it runs.
- Compare working agents and identify which kind of agent fits your own career goal.
Overview
A chatbot answers when you ask. An agent does a job for you on its own, on a schedule, and reports back. In this module you will design, build, test and schedule your own career agent in Gemini. It will keep working for you after the course ends.
The five parts of every agent
| Part | The question it answers | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | What is this agent for? | Find junior motion design jobs I can land in the next three months. |
| Where it looks | Which sources and which organizations? | A list of twenty target studios and agencies, checked on their own careers pages. |
| Rules | What counts, what gets cut, and how is each result checked? | Must be entry level; no unpaid internships; open the employer’s page and confirm the posting is live. |
| What it reports | What does each result look like? | One card per job: title, employer, link, why it fits, one gap to close. |
| When it runs | How often, and where do results land? | Every Monday morning, as a notification on my phone. |
Agents you can study
Each of these working agents uses the same five parts. Open them and look for the goal, the sources, the rules, the report and the schedule.
| Agent | Goal type | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Job Search Agent | Job search | Finds openings that fit, and confirms each one on the employer’s own site before it reaches the list |
| Flow | Career exploration | A regular letter that helps someone explore careers that fit their interests before choosing one |
| Soar | Stay current in a field | A web page rebuilt every morning with field news, clubs to join, and an internship watch |
| Digital Media Jobs | Job board for a community | Posts verified entry-level jobs to the program Discord twice a week |
| Example Agent: Avery’s Animation Job Agent | Job search, step by step | A fictional student’s complete agent, from goal to schedule. Use it as your model. |
How the module runs
| Step | You will | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Set Your Agent’s Goal | Choose what the agent is for and write its goal | 10, Process Work |
| 2. Plan Your Agent on Paper | Brainstorm and write the full plan before touching Gemini | 10, Process Work |
| 3. Build and Test Your Agent | Turn the plan into a Gemini skill and test it three times | 10, Process Work |
| 4. Schedule and Launch Your Agent | Choose a web page or a scheduled digest, put it on a schedule, and present it | 30, Projects |
Gemini note. Your GCC student Gemini account is the default tool. If a feature named here is not on your account yet, the instructor will post the workaround in Announcements, and no grade depends on one specific feature.